Tarnished Soldiers
by ViOlEt-KaT
Summary: The Akatsuki want new members and Sakura, who can't figure out why, is one of the newest candidates. Guess what? Sasuke is too. There's nothing else for him to do cough: recreate clan Can Sakura make sure that he doesn't follow his brother's footsteps?
1. Incarcerated

(A/N: Don't you just love my title?:D Enjoy… and yes I'll try to update regularly.)

Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say anyway…

Title: Tarnished Soldiers

Chapter 1: Incarcerated

Why is it that she couldn't take care of herself right to the very end? Someone always had to save her even if she was doing alright by herself. Just once she wanted to be the independent one that didn't need a knight in shining armor. Don't get her wrong, she appreciated Kakashi-sensei, Naruto… and even Sai when it counted the most but it still made her feel like a baby that always needed to be taken cared of. As she stared up at the wooden ceiling of what she guessed to be a cabin, her floral brows knit together in irritation. Would that annoying pitter-pattering of the rain stop anytime soon? She had a headache dammit!

"What was he thinking when he left something like "you" behind? That bastard…"

Her huge Peridot eyes slowly condensed in size and gained a darker shade accenting the anger in them. Did that cheap imitation of a shark just call her some… some thing? That's it. She's not waiting for "that bastard" to come back either. She'll just leave… but before that she has to escape and do it while her captors are off guard. Yes Haruno Sakura, age 15, the Godaime's apprentice, and permanent member of Team Kakashi, has been captured by Team Hebi. "That bastard's," Uchiha Sasuke's, newest team. It was more like they had saved her, as she was found on the ground in the rain next to the corpse of Akatsuki member Konan, but she wasn't allowed to go upon her merry way. Thus deeming her position in the matter… a captive. Ignoring the boy who spoke seconds ago, Sakura tried to remember what exactly happened as far back as she could remember.

Flashback

"Why not join Akatsuki?" a dark gaze settled onto her form as she shivered in pain.

"Why would I join?!" she yelled back incredulously while glaring at a woman cloaked in black with red clouds.

"We understand you and the jinchuriki are looking for the last Uchiha…" the woman drawled on bored and irritated that Sakura had drawn blood as a warm liquid trickled down her arm.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she muttered holding her own arm up. It had popped out of her socket and she was struggling to stand up as one of her legs had broken while an artery in another was suffering badly. She was going numb as she tiredly glowered.

"We are in the process of recruiting him. Your current goal is him is it not? You-,"

"You know nothing about what I want. There's nothing that you could interest me with concerning that traitor!" she yelled out offended. Her eyes were getting heavy. She needed to do something about her leg.

"…" Konan stared at her healing a cut on her supporting appendage as if contemplating something. "Then name what it is you want. Akatsuki would be happy to provide you with whatever you desire."

"Whatever I desire, huh? I desire…" she held up a hand sign as Konan readied her own jutsu.

"…" She attempted to separate herself into billions of pieces of paper to slash right into the pink haired kunoichi across from her but couldn't. "…what?"

"For you to leave us alone!" and glared as she yelled, "Hanabi no Jutsu!"

Konan started as she saw a trail of flames come her way and that her hands were attached to invisible chakra threads injecting Sakura's chakra to prevent her own flow. She tried to pull away but her limbs wouldn't budge. The Hokage's apprentice had won this fight as a shrill raw scream sounded throughout the wilderness that no one could bear witness to hear. Sakura dropped to the grassy floor in a panic after hacking out her own blood. Unable to lift herself she hurried to heal her side as she felt herself slip away. She could barely feel the cool raindrops touch her skin as she lay there with her chakra fading in and out of focus along with her vision.

"Son of a bitch…" she mumbled to herself as she barely felt a pair of broken ribs. She looked to her hand that was trying to close the wound only to see it not emanating the familiar green glow and instead had blood oozing down through her trembling fingers. Sakura coughed again as if objecting to her body's lack of response to her orders. She had no chakra left. She was going to die.

"Such a dirty mouth for a hot chick, don't you think, Sasuke?"

Sakura gasped, half in surprise half in pain, and looked up at the direction she heard a voice. Wind blew harshly as she slowly looked up and forced herself to stand with a wince. A boy with white hair and razor sharp teeth smiled down at her menacingly, or at least it seemed that way when lightning flashed behind him. Her eyes widened as she looked at the rest of his profile cloaked in black. If Sakura recalled correctly his name was Suigetsu. She looked him over once again before looking at Zabuza's zanpakto strapped along his back. The last time she saw him he was with that person…

She noticed his line of sight had changed slightly as if he was looking behind her. Quickly turning around to see who it was, a booming crack of thunder sounded as the sudden motion instigated a case of what she thought was whiplash before passing out while she envisaged a blurry form of a black cloak. Sakura could have been imagining it as darkness surrounded her but she could've sworn she saw the insignia of the familiar red cloud.

End Flashback

That same boy was right across from her at the foot of her bed watching her with interest and the storm was still going on. The next time she was awake was yesterday… her eye twitched.

Flashback

"Well hello there, gorgeous," somebody whistled right across from her as she slowly opened her eyes in irritation. It wasn't good to wake up to a voice she couldn't see or recognize. She'd found that she was still lying down so she started to sit herself up.

"Easy there…you're a medical nin, right? You should know better..." she ignored him and sat up in a panic. Instantly she gasped in pain and fell back down to the bed that she was on feeling the wetness of her sweat drenched in the sheets. Despite the unhygienic situation she felt comfort as the fabric cooled her feverish skin. She honestly couldn't breathe so she figured that it was her that was faintly wheezing.

"Told ya," he said.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked around as much as she could without moving her upper body trying to look for the source of the voice. Her ears felt like they were being plugged up and she could barely hear the reverberations of her settings as if they were muffled. "Maybe there's pus in them," she mumbled without thinking. It was possible that she could've developed an ear infection since when she decided to sit up her head felt like it was going to split in two and her ears felt tender as soon as her head it the pillow. No doubt she had a fever as well.

"Huh?"

She ignored him and decided to get right to the point wheezing and all.

"Where am I?"

"In a cabin," he cheekily stated. She could hear or rather faintly feel footsteps coming closer to her on the left.

"…where at?!" she yelled conscious of his approaching form. A slight silhouette surrounding it let her know that she didn't know the person.

"Calm down… I'm not gonna hurt you. He'd kill me if I did, especially after all the work he put up with dressing your wounds. You just wouldn't stop bleeding." The person kept advancing. Sakura was vulnerable and felt her heart rate escalate as he neared closer and closer. She didn't like her situation at all.

"Stay right there! What do you mean by "he?" Who's that?" she interrogated him and started to painfully sit up again, ignoring the pain coursing through her torso. The steps stopped.

"… You mean you don't know? He said that you guys knew each other way back..." she managed to sit up right and snapped.

"Just tell me who!" After her outburst her body wracked with soreness as coughs escaped through her dry mouth. She couldn't focus on his sudden steps coming closer to the edge of the bed and could barely sense his hands push her gently back down. "Easy there... don't want you to reopen your wounds. That wouldn't be very smart," he kept his hands on her because she continued to struggle. Sakura wanted to scream so badly and yell at him but her stupid dangling thing in the back of her throat wouldn't let her. (Note: It's called an epiglottis) "Aw crap! Karin! She's upchucking blood again get your jealous ass in here now!" True to his word, Sakura could feel the life liquid dribbling down her cheek and even tasted it on her tongue. 'I have internal wounds too?!' she screamed in her mind. The only people Sakura allowed touching her as medics would have to be Ino, Shizune, Tsunade-sama, and herself. This Karin person was in for a rude awakening if she thought Sakura was going to be a patient of hers.

In one fell sweep she once again ignored her smoldering torso and pumped chakra to her arms to push up and away. The guy holding her down didn't know what hit him as the shove included her pulling a left jab. She didn't know why, but as soon as her fist contacted with something solid she almost immediately felt fluid splash on her hand. And it was cold and runny. Not the familiar thick and warm red substance that usually erupted from her victims. Setting that thought aside she hurried off the bed and collapsed. Her legs barely responded to her commands and she thought back to when she had to heal a major artery in one of them and the other was still sore from healing up as it had been broken. That and she must've been asleep a long time in order for her leg muscles to become so weak that she couldn't stand.

"Hey c'mon that's not nice..." he said strangely.

'Shouldn't he be cursing at me or in pain rolling on the floor? I could've sworn I hit him hard enough.' She mused as she stood up. Sakura didn't like to brag but she had her pride and joy in those two fists of hers. If she hit you, usually you didn't get back up again… or you weren't supposed to. 'But I didn't even feel him hit the ground.' It was still dark so when she found the edge of the bed she was glad that there was some sort of barrier between her and the mysterious host... whom she couldn't see, "Please lie back down. I hate asking nicely," and probably had a tendency to violence. "Request denied," she stated and punched the bed putting as much strength she could muster into her right fist. Instantly the bed, none too neatly, smashed in half and caved up.

"Whoa!"

It was enough of a distraction to let her find the exit because she felt a draft coming from her right and he was too surprised, and immobile from going after her. It was probably a door or a window. 'Anything to get me away from this place. I don't know how far I can go but I will get away,' she told herself. Her eyes had become adjusted to the darkness conveniently in a few seconds and as she held her hand out she felt cool glass and turned to see a bunch of trees. 'A window,' she brought her fist to the pane and shattered it into pieces. Just then light spilled from behind, into the room exposing her as a female voice screamed, "I'm not jealous! Huh? Hey wait!" But it was too late.

Sakura had propelled herself out the window with her body catching shards still attached to the frame. "What the hell?!" the same voice yelled out. She didn't waste any time looking back to see if there were any faces she could identify. The only thing that ran through her mind was to survive. Within a second she rose from the ground she landed on from a crouching position and winced as she sped forward. She finally turned around feeling a heavy presence come towards her. All she saw was black and looked up as a huge form blocked her sight from the light that came from her temporary prison. "Fu–," she couldn't finish her sentence as something struck her in the neck from behind. The pressure point being unguarded and all told her brain to shut down and she passed out once more, '–ck…' but her thoughts continued the word.

End Flashback

So here she was still in the company of the boy she woke up to earlier and hating every minute of it. In the few hours she had woken up he decided to fill her in on a few details.

He was the same Suigetsu she saw before passing out.

He really admired her strength especially when he saw Konan's corpse.

There were 3 others with him.

Karin… the redhead with the glasses and matching eyes with the bitchy attitude. She honestly didn't know what her problem was as she glared at her the, technically, second time they met.

Juugo… the huge man that appeared behind her the last time she attempted to run away. Ditto on him times infinity.

And he paused before revealing the last person much to her annoyance but finally explained that he was the leader and decided to take her in… she yelled at him to tell her already if only it would get him to shut up. So he nonchalantly said, "Uchiha Sasuke." As if it was no big deal.

It actually took Sakura awhile to respond properly to what Suigetsu just said especially since he was observing her reactions carefully. When she woke up in chakra stocks and bonds they were very loose so her injured body would be comfortable enough to heal on its own but they were also loose enough for her to escape. Sakura carefully shrugged her shock off and said, "Oh, the traitor," much to his confusion. He probably expected hearts to replace her eyes and squealing along the lines of, "Really? Sasuke-kun's here? Oh it's been so long!" But she barely even flinched. Maybe a widening of the eyes was all the response he was going to get. How boring. He "tsked" and kept talking while she examined him from head to toe. 'So this is one of the people he replaced us with? If I know, Sasuke, he would pick a very capable and strong team. One qualified to not get on his nerves too much and to be able to serve their purpose when the time came to kill that man," she saw him clear his throat and once more began to talk. 'Not very impressive looking, with the exception of the big guy standing outside guarding the cabin,' she finished.

She already knew how to free herself from the makeshift chains that bound her to a new bed. Where the other one went she didn't know, nor care, she wanted to know where everyone was so that her escape plan would be flawless. The last time she tried to run away didn't turn out so well seeing as how she got caught in less than 10 seconds in her panic outside this place. Wherever this place was… Sakura noticed that the terrain was different from where she had fought Konan and was probably very far away from the battleground. She could be in a nearby town or in another country for all she knew. Sakura just had to get out of here. If Sasuke was recruited by the Akatsuki, she had to tell the Hokage so that Naruto would be prepared or protected. She knew the boy would hate the latter but the information has to be relayed none of the less. Now she had to assemble the pieces together.

That Karin girl was definitely inside another room and Sasuke… "Hey," she called out to the rambling boy in front of her. He looked a little disappointed that he was stopped halfway into whatever he had to say but complied anyway with a quick suggestive grin, "Yeah?" Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. Did he honestly think… oh whatever. "Where is Uchiha-san anyway?" she asked keeping her other thoughts at bay. "In an Akatsuki base, there's a meeting there today. It takes 2 days to get to where he's going but he's fast so you'll finally see him in no time," she knew exactly what he was talking about as she reviewed a memory in the summer of this year, when Sasuke had told them that he had broken their bonds and he had no intention of mending them as he lunged at Naruto. Sakura couldn't even see him move.

"I thought you guys were close, you know?" She raised a floral brow in order to indicate that she knew nothing of what he stated. He went on, "He said that you two were in the same cell as genin right?" She nodded and remembered to keep up the nonchalant attitude, "Yeah something like that. It was only for a short time though. We weren't… close or anything," the last sentence kind of stung but it was true. She doesn't remember being on friendly terms with him very much when they were 12 and 13. He always clicked with Naruto even if they were arguing. But with her, one of his fangirls, he had no time for. So it was strange that he would want her to stay anywhere near him. He's the type to leave girls on cold benches in the middle of the night let alone on a muddy ground. The chatter box across from her said that he even nursed her wounds and wouldn't let anyone else touch her until he left for an errand. Maybe he hadn't changed at all and maybe he hadn't broken his bonds after all… if there were any, that is. Suigetsu stared at her for a second. Analyzing her words. "Huh… that's funny. With the way he acted with your half dead body I thought otherwise. Maybe he liked ya back then, I don't think I blame him…" he trailed off looking at her up and down.

Sakura remembered that all she had on was her black cycling shorts and tightly wrapped bandages on her upper body and blushed as she brought the sheets up to cover her chest. He snickered, "Cute," she really wanted to hit him. And that was a real problem. She found out why she felt cool water instead of warm blood splashing on her fist yesterday when she first woke up. The first thing she did was throw a nearby cup at his napping head intent on giving him a concussion. But the thing just hit the wall as he turned into water upon contact and woke up. After a period of shock she asked what he was and he answered, "A failed experiment. But don't worry I'm human too so try not to hurt my feelings. As you can see I'm very sensitive." Sensitive her ass.

At least she knew that he was human and that meant, like all humans, he could be hurt by anything... or something. It was definitely something inside the body that had to go wrong in order for him to fall apart. She doubted he still had any organs inside and the only thing she watched him do was talk and drink water. 'So he has to stay hydrated, I guess that helps,' she looked out the window to think some more. He would be the type of person that hated heat or more likely the sun. But the sky was gray and it was still raining. If she ran away this would be his element and she would never have a chance. The two elements that generated heat or energy would be fire and lightning. Both of which Sasuke could definitely control, one of which she was thankful her teacher made her practice over and over again until she got it right. Lightning. It wasn't much but enough to revive a person or electrocute them. Every medic nin had to have control at least a small portion of this element.

Sakura could switch the nerves inside his body but didn't think he had any. Still… there had to be electricity in his body keeping him intact. Every living thing has some electricity circulating inside them. It was worth a try and the only way she'd actually get to fry him was if they made contact. Her fingers twitched in concentration and she saw a small spark develop in between her hands. Good she was charged. Now… he seemed as if he would jump at the chance to touch her but she didn't want that much contact so she just blurted out, "I… uh have to go to the bathroom," she wanted to bang her head against something. How was he going to touch her then? He'd probably call the other girl in to help her with that. Her face felt hot in undetected embarrassment for not thinking of a better excuse.

He just stared at her for a moment and bent down on his side and reached a hand under his chair. Out he brought, surprisingly, a bed pan. Sakura couldn't help the blush even if she was faking. "What am I supposed to do with that?" He stood up and stretched while saying, "You're a medical nin you figure it out… unless..." he put his hands down and looked at her strangely through one eye as if it was calculating. "It's the other one?" She rapidly shook her head perplexed. This was weird but convenient. She could actually make contact with his skin. Making sure her own hands were charged she brought them up to take the pan from him and brushed her fingers against his to make static electricity. He raised a brow at the blunder but then she smiled so innocently before saying, "Kai." His eyes widened in realization but it was too late. A huge surge went through his body but on the outside he stared at her with a blank gaze. Sakura was having second thoughts about the tactic but sighed in relief once he started to react as his body started bubbling. "You… how did you know?" Before she could explain he collapsed into a huge puddle of water splashing on the floor. His clothes landed on her bed and the pan crashed onto the ground making a huge clatter.

She winced at the noise but no one came to see what had happened. Sakura took a deep breath and yanked her hands away from each other disrupting the chakra that bound her in one fell swoop by forcing her own in and did the same with her feet. In no time she was off the bed and in the hallway. 'I wonder if he died…' she pondered but couldn't think on it more as soon as she was grabbed from behind in a choke hold. Sakura gasped in surprise. She forgot that the girl was still in the house. "I don't know why Sasuke-kun is interested in you so much. You couldn't even sense me approaching," Karin sneered at her. "Maybe because he's drawn to the past…" she choked out before elbowing her captor in the stomach, 'And because I still have my ear infection,' she added. Karin let go in pain and even fell on the floor. Sakura still had her inhuman strength and she smirked at the factor. 'Note to self: Thank Tsunade-sama a hundred times over if I get out of this mess alive,' she told herself.

Before Karin could pull herself together Sakura stomped her stomach in, not caring if she hit the solar plexus. The less people following her the better. The red-head let out a strangled cough before her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. "And then there was one," she said to herself catching her own breath. It actually took awhile to relax her respiratory system as she leaned on the wall with her arm supporting her weight. It wasn't good that she felt dizzy. Before she moved on she summoned a small slug, partially because she didn't want to make more of a ruckus and partially because she had to save what little chakra she had. "Yes mistress Sakura?" the little bug squeaked. She brought the creature up to her face and smiled weakly, "I need you to find some antibiotics in this place and do a perimeter check around this cabin. Do it fast, I don't have much time," she kissed it and it disappeared in a pink poof of smoke.

Meanwhile Sakura walked around and found a closet of boy clothes. They weren't clothes that she approved of concerning her gender but desperate times called for desperate measures and… she was freezing. Stifling her shivering, she hurriedly slapped on some black pants and a long sleeved shirt that smelt familiar. For some reason her boots were in this closet too. Shrugging at the coincidence, Sakura also found a cloak made for the kind of weather outside the cabin and just when she was warm enough her ninken came back and somehow spit out her medical bag out of its tiny little body. "I found something better, mistress," it relayed making Sakura smile. "Thank you Tsuru-chan. Anything else?"

While Sakura was rummaging through her bag thankful that none of its contents were touched the slug added that there was a huge man outside the front door talking with its natural enemies. Sakura thought for awhile figuring out that Tsuru's enemies were birds. It made sense but not the part that he was talking to them. Then again Inuzuka Kiba could communicate with his own dog, Akamaru all the same; she guessed this guy was no different when it came to birds. "Okay… this is what we're going to do, Tsu-chan…"

Preview: They were right there. If only she could… "Don't even think about it. If you make a commotion I will kill them in a heart beat. Understood?" The stinging in her eyes was relieved by warm tears that spilled down her cheeks and onto his hand that covered his mouth. It seemed almost upon contact with the liquid that he dug his fingers further into her side. She couldn't help the muffled sob from the pain and heartbreak that escaped her throat. Nor could she get away with the extreme trembling her body made that seemed to have a mind of its own. Sakura was afraid. He had definitely changed and she would probably die. "Alright, let's move out," she heard Genma announce. Sakura could only watch with her frightened wide green eyes as they disappeared from view. He ripped out his fingers making her writhe in pain as she dropped helplessly towards the ground but was stopped as she was yanked by her waist. She looked up and saw a snake wrap itself around her legs while it hissed in her ear. Sakura couldn't help but screech in dread.

(A/N: Well, do you like? I've been gone for so long I bet you think I disappeared. I changed my contact info because apparently my hotmail kept thinking that the fanfiction bots were junk or spam. Either way, if you gave me a private message at all, I didn't receive it. :( Sucks huh? So message me again please if you will…)


	2. Arrival

(A/N: Hey! Thank you for your response! I promise to do better by actually… updating regularly. But I do have a life outside fanfiction: Cb623(). I just paid attention to it more. I'm sorry! You guys matter more to me but I don't want to be a bum on the street. By the way Lunar-Tabby () are you the same as Luner-Tabby ()? I noticed that there are just two different vowels a&e from Tough Love and freaked out.)

Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say anyway…

Title: Tarnished Soldiers

Chapter 2: Arrival

"Are you sure this will work, mistress?" Sakura nodded to the slug on her shoulder as she peeked from beyond the front door and saw the young man just standing and actually talking to the birds. She decided that she wanted to hear the man's conversation and told Tsuru to get into position.

"So he'll be here in 10 hours? Are you sure?" she saw him stroke the breast of a swallow chirping to him in response. Sakura figured the "he" was Sasuke.

"No, I've never doubted your cousin's word Tsubame Chi, it's just…" other birds landed on his shoulders. Sakura raised a brow. Was he King of the Fowl?

"We're holding a girl in the cabin. Her name is Sakura and she even looks like a cherry blossom... Huh? Well… she has pink hair and I think Suigetsu said she had really pretty green eyes … No you can't go in and see her guys." A chorus of tweets and chirps erupted in protest.

"Remember what happened to Toto the last time I let him in?" They all went silent. Sakura couldn't help but smile. He didn't seem like a ninja… more like a gentle giant. She kind of felt bad about what she was about to do, but had to if she were to leave before her 10 hours was up.

"A hawk ate your mate?! I'm sorry… I loved her songs a lot. How did you know the hawk was from Leaf?" Sakura bit her lip in anticipation.

"Air mail? What's that?" She held in a chuckle. He was pretty adorable for a huge guy too.

"I didn't know there was a certain pattern… near the mountains?" an idea formed into Sakura's ever so useful brain. Of course the hawks took certain flight patterns if they were to evade getting hunted by enemy nin. She'd go into the line of that path and follow it back to the village or maybe some fellow shinobi who could help her. Shannaro! Thankful that it was around noon, the time they fed, she just waited until most of the birds flew away. She was about to ready her kunai but the man turned around quickly and charged for her. She jumped out of the way in his tirade and the rest of the birds flew away as if they knew danger would come. Sakura landed in a bush and struggled to see why he changed all of sudden. 'He sensed my presence? What happened to all my stealth? I can't sneak around for shit,' she stumbled over the mass of leaves and twigs just to see his back where Tsuru had dutifully attached himself as ordered and making his way carefully upwards.

The man named Juugo turned and got up easily from the pile of wood he smashed beyond repair. The door no longer existed either. 'Big deal, I can do that too. But he's pretty fast for someone so big.' He looked around erratically as if crazed with a weird smile on his face and she noticed that his skin was littered with marks all around his body. It reminded her of the curse seal. He then spotted her crouched low behind a bush and made eye contact freezing her in place just as she was about to move. 'Why can't I…' Sakura hadn't felt so much at a stand still since Orochimaru made his first appearance at the Chuunin exams. Somehow the comparison between the two seemed to connect.

What sort of relationship did he have with the demented Sannin? More importantly what's the connection between him and Sasuke? Her thoughts abruptly cut off as soon as she saw his two arms expand and take shape of a spear. 'Is that a kekkei genkai?' He took in her figure once more making her eyes grow wide with fear. She held down the shiver but he seemed to sense her anxiety and gave out a thunderous howl of laughter holding up his head as if he couldn't help it.

That's when she caught herself shivering and couldn't stop. 'What is he?' she thought before he started to charge forward with an overwhelming killing intent. She couldn't move, she knew that, but she could speak and remembered her ninken. "Now, Tsu-chan!" the command came out strangled but it turned out that he'd heard her regardless and in an instant Juugo's legs stopped moving while he let out a chilling shriek of anguish. He fell hard onto the muddy ground and slid until he reached her feet. He was out cold surrounded by a bed of upturned pebbles and mud. Tsuru found himself on Sakura's still trembling hand and gave a word of comfort, "It's over mistress," she gulped and nodded sending him on his way with a snack. It took her ten minutes of staring at his now motionless body paralyzed, because of the acid Tsuru had burned to neutralize his spinal columns' movement, to get her to finally move around and set up some traps around the perimeter before leaving.

Sakura made sure she was headed for the mountain and traveled by tree branches careful not to break twigs or slice any leaves in her hasty escape so as not to lead any unwanted attention to herself. In other words; her first love, her ex-teammate, and now enemy… Uchiha Sasuke. "So I said to the guy that he should take Hana's Path. But he said–," suddenly distracted, Sakura missed the branch she was to step on and grabbed the one below it and swung around planting her feet soundlessly upon landing. Looking below her with a jackhammer for a heart she saw two passerbies, a boy and an old man. They didn't look like ninja and didn't look like they heard her stumble. She sighed and waited until they passed before continuing. 'That's not good. I'm out of the loop because of the 60 chance that I won't make it, considering who might follow me. But I won't get caught,' she coached herself as she rubbed her side.

Her ribs were still sore and she could feel the strain running through the woods already had on her body. She had to rest herself in a few hours or they'd never heal properly but the journey to the mountains would take at least 5 more hours to get to and based on the information she obtained she only had seven more hours before Sasuke arrived and received his little surprise. Just the thought of that happening alone made her pump more chakra in her legs zooming past a few more trees as she sped up her pace. 'I wish, Naruto and the others were here,' She realized that earlier that day she was complaining to herself about not being able to handle herself alone but this circumstance was different. Maybe it was her last opponent that made her jumpy about her situation but she still felt as if the worst had yet to come. Pushing negative thoughts down she continued and attempted to calm herself down by counting trees.

ShoutOutToCate()ShoutOutToman-chanShoutOutToKatriniko1stLoversofmystory

Sasuke ran his hair through his dark locks in frustration. She escaped again and succeeded. One would think that because she was looking for him in the summer, that she would stick around now that he wasted his time to come to her. He stared at Juugo on the ground, not really feeling like picking him up, noticed an odd and recent scar on the man's neck. It was a possibility that the others had set the traps within the perimeter of the forest, that he had earlier encountered, but none of them were tripped if she had escaped. He didn't think they were smart enough to set up triple traps, plus the wires that were used wasn't the standard shinobi tool he used when still part of Team 7. They were thinner, more flexible, and something that would mainly be used for sewing not traps. This, despite the major time lapse, had Sakura written all over it. The rumors he had heard of her becoming a medical nin were true after all.

He stepped over the huge man taking note of his footsteps and the smaller ones made next to him in the mud. Dismissing the demolished entrance he walked inside and found Karin on the floor slumped over and holding her stomach in the hall. He sighed, stepped over her, and continued further towards where Sakura should've been kept. The bed was empty and a little wet. Speaking of wet there was a huge puddle on the floor and Suigetsu's clothes were on the floor. "Suigetsu?" he was almost a little wary of asking about his teammate for some reason. After a minute of just standing there, the water started to pull itself together into an eye. Sasuke raised a brow as if asking what happened. "She's pretty vicious for someone so vulnerable," he told him and looked him over. "Nice touch by the way," Sasuke looked at his own arms, legs, and torso. His body was covered in blood. He shrugged and walked to his room only to discover that someone went in and raided it. A whole outfit with his cloak was missing along with Sakura's boots. "Annoying," he muttered ignoring Suigetsu's call for some help.

Stepping over Karin again, he summoned a snake to go on ahead of him and pick up clues as to where the pink headed kunoichi could've run off to. As soon as the ninken left he crouched down and shook the one below awake. A moan and a cough escaped her lips before mumbling, "That… bitch." He remained patient and called her name. She sat up instantly but hissed as her posture faltered a bit. Her eyes slowly opened in pain and the first thing she said out of her mouth was, "Can we kill her now?" He scowled and sternly said, "No. Where is she?" She pouted but nevertheless complied and sought Sakura out with her ability. After a short pause she announced.

"Southbound. She's almost at the base of that mountain. There are four coming perpendicular her path. She might've contacted someone."

His eyes narrowed. "How far apart are they?"

She scrunched her face up, "24 minutes at best," and in a flash he was gone.

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Sakura didn't know if it was her injuries or nerves but she was burned out. She still wasn't safe yet, not until she was very far away from that cabin. It was around the time that Sasuke should've arrived at her wooden prison. She wondered if he would be infuriated or not. Maybe he didn't care and would leave it at that? Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks. It could've been the trick of the air or her weary mind but she thought she heard a hiss. She hadn't been paranoid since 6 hours ago. Her green eyes reviewed the vicinity top to bottom and left to right but she couldn't pinpoint where the sound came from. She shrugged but kept an ear open and an eye out and felt familiar chakra patterns coming her way. Blinking at who it could be, it took her 5 minutes before realizing that 2 of those patterns were Genma and Iruka sensei.

Almost immediately her heart swelled with relief as she hurried towards them keeping high in the trees. She stopped at the point where she would meet them and tried to calm herself down. Her breathing sounded deafening in her ears. After waiting a couple of minutes they were within her peripheral vision. They were slowing down, much to her satisfaction, probably to stop and take a breather. They looked a bit battle scarred from a mission, but it didn't matter, help was help. She was in the clear so far. She started to move forward from her spot so they could see her as well and took a deep breath before yelling out a greeting but something roughly grabbed her by the waist and just as quickly covered her mouth.

Her pain filled scream, mixed with terror, was muffled by a padded hand. She tried to wriggle out of the captor's grasp but her effort did nothing to deter the person in hold of her. "We meet again, Sakura," a familiar, deep yet cold voice murmured in her ear. In incredulity she strained her neck to see his face. How did he get here so fast? She knew he had an incredible alacrity but this was ridiculous. What took her almost 10 hours took him 10 minutes, according to her educated guess. Her head was prevented from turning anyway since he didn't permit her to move much but, the dark bangs she saw clashing against her own light ones, was more than enough to let her know that she was caught by Sasuke. That realization only made her move around more to get her comrades' attention, but he transported the both of them further away from them onto another branch. She could barely make out their figures, they were out of range.

They were right there. If only she could… "Don't even think about it. If you make a commotion I will kill them in a heart beat. Understood?" The stinging in her eyes was relieved by warm tears that spilled down her cheeks and onto his hand that covered her mouth. It seemed almost upon contact with the liquid that he dug his fingers further into her side. She couldn't help the muffled sob of pain and heartbreak that escaped her throat. Nor could she get rid of the extreme trembling her body made that seemed to have a mind of its own. Sakura was terrified. He had definitely changed and she would probably die. "Alright, let's move out," she heard Genma announce. Sakura could only watch with her frightened green eyes as they disappeared from view. He ripped out his fingers making her writhe in pain as she dropped helplessly towards the ground. Her plunge was abruptly stopped as she was saved my something yanking her by the waist. Sakura looked up and saw a snake wrap itself around her legs while it hissed in her ear. She couldn't help the scream that escaped her mouth in dread.

Sasuke stared at her. Despite his warning, she deliberately caused a racket. The squad that was here earlier wasn't far enough in order for her sharp scream to be muffled by the contiguous trees. He cursed and bit out, "Get lost Koh," the snake obeyed instantly making her drop to the ground none to nicely but remarkably enough she landed on all fours heavily. He let himself fall too and settled on his feet with ease in front of her. She stood up like the day he'd found her. Her ribs were so aggravated at his ministrations that she couldn't even stand up straight and her breathing was severely forced. He could feel the squad approaching but they were a good ways away so he could get his point across before they arrived. "I don't like repeating myself, Sakura," he said lowly. She had backed herself up against a tree and eyed him warily gulping. Good, he figured, the more she feared him the more he was able to manipulate her without moving a muscle.

"W… what do you want with me? I thought you said you broke your bonds…" she trailed off and left the statement to blow away with the wind.

He regarded her coolly and simply retorted, "You and I had no bonds to speak of Sakura."

A pool of liquid gathered in her huge green eyes in response to his words but the tears didn't fall like they would've years ago. "So why are you making one with me now? One of expediency?"

He raised a brow, "I never said that you were of value to me."

"You never had to. How else would you explain keeping me alive after finding me? You ordered your team to watch me after you left for the Akatsuki," she defiantly returned.

Needless to say he was surprised to see that look being given to him by her of all people, a stubborn and angry glare, but he remembered that she charged after him when they finally found him after 2 and a half years. "So they said something?" he asked referring to his group that followed him everywhere.

"More like Suigetsu wouldn't shut up," she corrected him looking off to the side.

"Aa, I see," believable. That's all that came to mind.

"I think it came from over here!" Sakura perked up at the sound of Iruka's voice and took a step towards the direction the squad from earlier were coming. In an instant Sasuke's blood drenched hand shot out and banged against the tree behind her, blocking her way. She jerked back and looked to her right seeing Sasuke's head down while electricity produced from his arm. He slowly lifted his head and showed her his blood red eyes but what stunned her most was that it was in the ultimate and final stage. The Mangekyou Sharingan. "I told you what would happen if you caused a disturbance," he threatened monotonously. Her green clashed with his red and widened. "Sasuke, don–!"

The next thing Sakura knew something cool and sharp pierced its way through her abdomen. She looked down and saw his katana embedded in her flesh. She shakily raised her hands to it so she could pull it out and heal her stomach but it began twisting making blood dribble out more by the ounces. She was in so much pain that all she could do was look up and see the teenage boy turn into a huge snake that looked ready to devour its prey. It opened its mouth that overflowed w/ drool dripping down from the fangs to the floor. She looked down again and struggled against the sword as it was no longer held by a hand and just pinned her to the tree but it wouldn't budge. Her breathing filled her ears disabling her ability to think clearly and looked up once again just in time to see the fork tipped tongue dart out and rub itself against her cheek, leaving a trail of saliva in its wake. 'This isn't real. Everything is black, white, and red,' this must be Itachi's Tsukiyomi but… I don't think he would bother teaching it to his younger brother who was trying to kill him. What–!'

She was snatched up into its powerful jaws and in the process of being swallowed whole as it straightened up. Sakura saw the esophagus open up wide for her. She had other plans, 'It sure feels real,' and somehow got her hands to move upwards so she could release the justu put on her by stopping her chakra flow. Granted how much of it she had left and the sorry state her body was in physically and mentally it was extremely hard but she remembered that Sasuke never made anything easy. Especially when it was to talk to him, he put you in tongue ties without saying much himself. But Sakura had changed; she could talk on equal ground with him almost. She'd be damned if she, originally a genjutsu type, would be defeated by something that came natural to her. She felt the snake's hot breath greet her as the tube stretched further down to where she couldn't see the end of the pit. With all her might, clapping her hands together, she let out a cry while stopping her chakra flow. It seemed like forever but she found herself face to face with the muddy ground again.

She slightly felt a breeze and saw drops of rain but couldn't hear them. She only heard the clanging of metal. As she came to, she could barely hear the battle happening and tiredly turned her head towards the sounds, not bothering to move her limbs. It was sideways but the view that welcomed her was Sasuke on the verge of holding Iruka-sensei down and slitting his throat. The action was slow as she saw the rest of his teammates on the soil either unconscious or trying to get up and stop him from taking the man's life. Sakura had a last adrenaline rush and pushed her self to say something. Her head pounded painfully but she ignored that and tried to scream through her throat that was busy gurgling saliva. Her throat wouldn't let her articulate a single sound. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Kami, couldn't he see who was in his hands?! Her lips trembled as she saw him bring down the metal leisurely as if he had all the time in the world.

'Stop,' this was good, her brain knew what she wanted to say now it just had to push the idea through her lips.

'St–,' and it continued outwards, "–op…"

It was only a whisper and not the whole word. She saw Genma out of the corner of her eye turn his head towards her direction aware that she was awake and alive. He was yelling something she could barely make out. Sasuke almost simultaneously stopped but shrugged and continued on. Genma forced himself up but still couldn't stand up right and crumpled back down.

"St–," it was a little louder, 'op,' but she couldn't even finish that one word again.

She took a huge breath and let it out slowly to concentrate, "Stop," there it was again but not loud enough. So she gathered what air she could in her lungs and…

"STOP!" Look at that, he obeyed.

The sound of a newborn storm broke its way through to Sakura's eardrums after she heard her own voice. The wind and rain lashed at her cheek but she didn't care. She needed to get her point across. "Please… stop," the boy turned around, eyes wide for the first time in years, his sword forgotten along with the idea of killing his ex-sensei. She didn't know what the shock was all about. Thunder boomed and shook the earth waking her up from her daze. Her body quivered cold and weak as she moved her arms to push herself off the ground. His eyes narrowed as he made a 180 degree turn. He was scowling as if he was disgusted. "I'll g…go back with you without any… problems."

'So just please… please don't hurt them anymore. Please don't kill them!' she pleaded with her sad huge eyes that brought on so many memories as tears fell. She could feel a bit of drool dribble down her chin but didn't care. That's probably what he was looking at. Her legs were useless, so all she could do was hold her upper body in accordance with his standing position.

"Sasuke-kun… please don't… please…" and her world went black once more.

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Sasuke stared at Sakura's still form. She wasn't supposed to be awake so early after he initiated the technique he inherited from his late brother. In fact she wasn't supposed to wake up on her own. Did he do it wrong? No… He had been practicing for weeks after he killed that man and perfected it. The jounin closest to her dragged himself towards her and Sasuke snapped, "You heard her," and dropped Iruka not caring if he groaned in pain or relief.

"Why do you need Lady Hokage's apprentice, Uchiha Sasuke?" Someone behind him asked. He turned around and activated his Mangekyou once again. The man's eye widened in fear while the other one was swollen shut. He shrugged and retorted, "Something about value," disappointed that he couldn't do as he wished. He didn't care about what others thought but a plea like that meant something to him, something that he couldn't help but keep his word to even if he didn't reassure her he'd do as she asked. Though, it was bothering him that he was even complying with her request in the first place. He never listened to anyone. Just because she asked him not to kill Iruka didn't mean she meant everyone else. But… he wasn't like his brother… He didn't kill people for no apparent reason.

They were defenseless and couldn't do anymore damage, whatever that was, and were pretty weak to begin with. He would have had more of a challenge if they weren't so drained from whatever mission they came from. So he dismissed the event entirely and performed the same doujutsu on the man he was scowling at and then looked at the others still conscious. One by one each of them slumped down in the mud. He sheathed his Kusanagi while observing her form. So she was the one who stole his clothes? There was a pretty good chance she didn't know whose they were considering she was in a rush to get away. Before he left he figured it was Karin who had taken them again and that the boots that Sakura's missing boots were discarded somewhere. She was acting strangely when he decided to take Sakura with them.

He had to hand it to Sakura though… she had grown, bringing his whole team down while still recovering. He had no qualms about it being more brain than brawn used this time, given her condition, but he had yet to see what she could do when she fully healed. He observed her breathing pattern and appearance once more before hauling her into his arms and carried her off bridal style into the night.

Preview: The boy slipped back to wherever and left Sasuke in peace only to yell out, "WHOA!" His eye twitched but nothing else followed the loud exclamation. He had finally finished his packing when he saw Sakura carry Juugo on her shoulder like luggage to the room she was in that afternoon. Words could not describe what went through his mind as he witnessed this spectacle, because he wasn't thinking. Juugo… 4 times heavier than his own weight and not only that but she was pretty light when he had carried her back to the cabin. What did the Hokage teach her? He caught her eye making her stop in mid trek and face him full on. It was about 10 seconds until she continued with a scowl on her face. Whatever it was that she saw she didn't like it. He shook his head.

(A/N: And so the story progresses… I wonder if this was too boring… It would help if you reviewed. I'm not obsessed about it but if I don't get some feedback like Cb623(), I go nuts. Lack of response tells me you don't like it very much. I'm really self conscious.)


	3. Excursion

(A/N: My Next Chappie is dedicated to some of my first readers… You guys are the best.)

Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say anyway…

Title: Tarnished Soldiers

Chapter 3: Excursion

Sasuke arrived with Sakura in his arms at the cabin 20 minutes later soggy, drained, and ornery. When he had come back earlier he was thinking of eating a late night snack consisting of only tomatoes, a nice shower to wash off the blood that started to cake in his dark spikes, and an immediate retreat for the whole night and half a day on his bed. Obviously that wasn't the case tonight as his place of refuge was in ruins, where his team was cataleptic, and his hostage –at least that had been what she was established as and he really couldn't figure out another word– had escaped. It was only until he saw that Juugo's body was now missing from the muddy floor and the cabin's door was replaced by a bed sheet that he believed he could relax a little… Until they would leave shortly thereafter because Sakura had made herself known to Leaf nin, whom he still didn't know why he didn't kill, that she was still alive and kicking. As soon as the squad from earlier wakes up the first thing that they'd do is report back to the village who they had seen, where, and why they didn't come back with her.

Sasuke could answer all those questions but would rather not in front of Anbu from the Leaf and not under the point of a kunai. The area would be swarming with them in a few days and he wanted to put as much distance away from this place as possible. Even if that meant… no sleep. He walked towards the cabin and noted that he could hear two people arguing. Karin and Suigetsu. From what he could tell they got themselves together rather quickly and did what they could, given that he had woken them up a few minutes ago. He lifted the bed sheet away from the cabin's entrance and found himself looking at a, still, incapacitated Juugo covered in mud. A drop of water had freed itself from a lock of his hair. He had to be awake if they were to leave tonight. What exactly did Sakura do to him?

Speaking of which she decided to stir in his arms and blink herself awake at that very moment. He waited patiently before she laid eyes on him and said, "Sasuke?" Then went right down to business not caring if she was weak or not and set her down while commanding, "Heal him," she blinked in response but her eyes soon grew wide as she started to recall all the events that had taken place earlier. He had no time for her sluggish start, they all had to leave now and here she was slowing them down already. "I don't have time for this Sakura, either heal him or I'll make you heal him," he growled out activating his eyes. Once again her gaze went from astonished to angry and she even snapped back, "There's no need to threaten–," he interrupted, "Actually there is and if you still have some intellect you'll realize that we have to leave now without any hindrances," and pointed at Juugo to emphasize his point.

She turned and looked at the man. Upon turning back around to protest she saw Sasuke already at the base of the hall going upstairs. Sakura sighed and looked back towards her newest patient who had to be up and running in a couple of minutes. This was at least an hour long surgery, if they had moved him gently, but judging from the way the mud covered his whole body it could be possible that she paralyzed him for life. Not only that but what if she woke him up during surgery? She was sure the first thing he'd want to do would be to snap her like a twig. With his strength and size she was sure that wouldn't be a problem for him. How could Sasuke leave such an unstable person with her? And he had the nerve to impose that she was irresponsible? Ugh… boys. Well first things first, she had to clean him up a little bit and lay him down on a table. Not the floor.

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"Come again?!" Sasuke ignored the ringing in his ears and proceeded towards his own room to pack. Not eat a couple of tomatoes, take a shower and go to sleep… bugger. "Sasuke-kun, hold up! I understand why we have to leave immediately, but not why we have to take that bitch along with us. She's more trouble than she's worth," Karin continued to whine. "Not that it matters Karin but the only reason why she's trouble is because you three couldn't handle her while I was gone." The red-head said nothing and snapped shut her mouth once realizing that he had a point. He got rid of Karin who had stomped off to her own room, now Suigetsu was next. Who, oddly, wasn't saying anything. Sasuke mentally shrugged. If he was quiet then there was no risk of wasting time talking. Less time to argue meant more time to travel. But Sasuke had no such luck. "I was wondering… why didn't you kill her?"

Sasuke almost paused in his current task of putting away a couple of spare boots. Why didn't he kill her? Well, he had no reason to, and he didn't want to. But he wasn't going to tell the chatter box of the group that. "None of your business. Go pack if your coming," he could see the white haired boy was leaning on the door post to his room studying his actions and words like he always did. The boy may act like he was laid back and incompetent but he was the exact opposite. He wanted to know what made Sasuke tick and throughout the whole time he's known him he hasn't figured him out. Sasuke didn't even think he knew himself. But what he did know was that he was getting irritated by the lack of cooperation. "Depends on where you're going," he finally stated. Finally something he could answer, "The Earth Country," there was a pause before Suigetsu had said, "Awesome, heard there's another swordsman there," Sasuke assumed nothing. He was finally getting rid of one of them; he didn't want to jinx it.

The boy slipped back to wherever and left Sasuke in peace only to yell out, "WHOA!" His eye twitched but nothing else followed the loud exclamation. He had finally finished his packing when he saw Sakura carry Juugo on her shoulder like luggage to the room she was in that afternoon. Words could not describe what went through his mind as he witnessed this spectacle, because he wasn't thinking. Juugo… 4 times heavier than his own weight and not only that but she was pretty light when he had carried her back to the cabin. What did the Hokage teach her? He caught her eye making her stop in mid trek and face him full on. It was about 10 seconds until she continued with a scowl on her face. Whatever it was that she saw she didn't like it. He shook his head.

As soon as she disappeared from view Suigetsu's freaked out face, popped up in his doorway, "Did you see that?!" and pointed in the direction Sakura had taken Juugo. He walked towards the bathroom with some fresh clothes and mumbled, "Hn."

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Sakura thought she'd have the satisfaction of seeing some sort of surprised reaction coming from his face. Especially since he hadn't seen her for more than 3 years but all he did was stare as if it was no big deal. Maybe it was so much of shock that he couldn't react the way she was expecting him to? Nah… he always looked like that. It was very rare of him to show any emotion and not because he didn't want to… more of because he knew not to as an excellent shinobi would. If she really thought about it, Sasuke didn't have any real friends his age until Naruto and he became part of the same team, and he would show annoyance and arrogance most of the time but never surprise. All she got, back then, were frowns and blank stares. She stood corrected, not much had changed, when it came to Sasuke.

Shaking her head when stopping at the room she had first woken up in since the day she killed Konan she gently lowered Juugo down on the bed noting that it was stripped of the sheets that it had before she left. Feeling watched by a familiar presence she asked out loud, "Where can I get hot water?" She continued by reaching into her medical bag and bringing out some antiseptics, a rag, bandages, soldier pills, and surgical tools. "Heh, you're something else you know that? Why did you come back?" Suigetsu asked, she turned around and scowled, "It wasn't my ch…" her eyes widened. She'd be telling a lie. Before she blacked out she told Sasuke that she'd come back without a fight. But that's only because she was sure he wouldn't let her go… and mainly if he had agreed to let the others live. Sakura still wasn't strong enough to take Sasuke on and win. She didn't think she ever would be. Turning around and shrugging she shoved some soldier pills in her mouth and swallowed, instantly feeling the chakra boost.

She assessed the damage Tsuru had done and sighed in relief. He didn't damage any nerves. He only melted two disks together and canceled Juugo's ability to move. There were also a couple of splinters lodged in as well. No doubt from being dragged back into the house. This surgery would only take half an hour. First things first though, she needed hot water to clean his neck so she could tear the skin and begin working on his spinal column. She was about to turn around and go look for some hot water herself when she almost bumped into a bowl of the steaming liquid being held out to her. Sakura looked up and saw Suigetsu smirking down at her. She blinked and took it from his hands with a small thank you. While working she started some small talk and asked, "Why are you still around me?" He laughed and sat back down on the chair in the room.

"Why? Do I offend you?" she shook her head.

"I could make you into a puddle of water again," she challenged and used a scalpel to tear open the flesh that was affected.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble but that won't be happening a second time. Besides you don't seem to be the merciless type," he teasingly addressed her.

"… Can I ask you something?" she inwardly winced at the pus forming in between the tissue and brought out a jar.

"Shoot," he folded his arms watching her work. How could she stand being a medical nin?

"Why isn't Team Hebi disbanded? Isn't Uchiha Itachi dead? Or is that a rumor?"

"Well, when you ask one question you mean to ask three don't you? We're just wandering around I guess. None of us really want to leave even though our purpose has been served. And it's true, his big bro is gone, his preserved body has been sealed in a scroll of Sasuke's," he observed some white stuff gather into a concentration of chakra that formed a bubble. What the hell is that?

"…" she tightly closed the lid and washed her hands once again before pouring antiseptic on Juugo's neck, then got out the tweezers.

"Are you jealous that we won't let your teammate go?" he decided to test her and see where she stood with their leader.

"No. Why would I be? He's a traitor," she stubbornly stated, 'And nothing more than an acquaintance. At least that's how he put it,' she added thoughtfully.

"Hm. So you say but your heart rate went up when I asked you again this time," he knowingly stated.

"… Is that an ability of yours?" she tiredly sighed out finally taking the last piece of stray wood out and scanned for anymore problems before taking on the main one.

"How'd you guess?" he whistled at a bright green light that illuminated the whole room.

"You said that you were an experiment. It's not normal for humans to sense things like that without skin to skin contact," where the hell is this guy's joint at?

"The way you put it sounds kinda dirty. You're not as innocent as you look," he stated with a smile forming on his lips seeing the tips of her ears burn red.

"…Whatever," it was hard shoving out an image of Konohamaru turning into, Sai and Sasuke on top of each other even if it was fake.

A third throat cleared echoing in the room. Sakura abruptly stopped her task and turned to look at Karin who was tapping her foot. Sakura raised a brow but shrugged it off knowing that the conversation had come to a close. 'And just when I was starting to get along with him. He doesn't seem that bad,' she mused and went right back to work while listening to the girl talking with her previous guest. "Why are you talking to her?" she snapped. Suigetsu rolled his eyes. This would be the third time they argued today. Couldn't she stop picking on him and for once bother Sasuke? He was in the shower right now. Shouldn't she be trying to get a look at him naked or something? Screw the theory that the other girl had some hidden naughty desires, Karin was all up in there with the freaks. In an attempt to avoid her nitpicking he said, "Then you watch her Karin," and walked out the door.

Sakura could hear a slight protest erupt from the red-head but it stopped as soon as the boy from earlier had departed from sight. The door slammed before the other girl mumbled, "Stupid idiot." Sakura was about done and lowered the chakra field until it was no more. She put away all of her stuff, only leaving a needle and medical wire that she, astoundingly, still was in stock of. Ten minutes later she was done sowing the stitches. "Um…" she turned to look at the girl behind her and asked, "Uchiha-san wants him to be awake so he can walk on his own… How–," "That's your problem," …or tried to. In that instant the door opened to the said person and he looked at her then Karin. Why was the air so tense? He inwardly shrugged and said, "Let's go."

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Sand… as far as the eye could see. Beige brownish dust that wore away stones in time started to wear away at Sakura's patience. A lot of it was in her boots and she couldn't get it out. What's more is that if she wanted to shake it out, which she did, couldn't. Why? She was in chakra manacles connected to Sasuke 10 yards away from her that's why. Being the ever paranoid, idiot with a 100 foot pole stuck up his ass he announced to Team Hebi openly that they couldn't trust her despite her declaration of tagging along. "After all," he drawled on making her hatred of him grow, "you tried to escape twice and almost succeeded both times." Stressing the "almost," "almost" pushed her over the line. They all knew that, had he not been there, she would've gotten away. But she knew that Sasuke wanted to rub it in her face.

"Jerk," her head turned towards Suigetsu glaring forward, and then in the same direction he focused on. 'Ah, very accurate,' Sakura agreed with Suigetsu. It was unbearably hot and arid. When were they going to stop? The best solution would have to be walking at night and resting during the day but Sasuke seemed so determined to get to the next hideout that she said nothing. He was stubborn and would never listen to her anyway. She looked down at her hands bound with his chakra. It was so potent that the slightest twitch caused her pain but she wasn't going to be the baby of the group and complain about it even if her wrists had black and blue bruises.

He had mentioned something about going to a more temperate, Earth Country, through the Water Country to throw off their trail from Leaf Anbu. It was the long way but it would be effective. He changed his mind after encountering Mist Anbu, much to Suigetsu's displeasure. Never the less, they weren't allies of Leaf, who were the allies of Sand. What better way to avoid them by taking the short cut and going behind enemy lines? It was logical until he said that there was a base somewhere in this sea of dust. Along with his mention of changing direction he said that he'd want his clothes back by the time they got there. Meaning that he had a change of clothes for her or he was going to buy new ones. Her old ones… no longer existed for some reason.

"He specifically said through Water, not Sand, Wa-ter," he whined on. Sakura nodded.

"Ano… what exactly is this base Uchiha-san mentioned?" It had been three days since their departure and in that time they had gotten a little closer. To be honest the boy reminded her a little of Naruto and to her disgust Karin was a little like her twelve year old self too. But just by a LITTLE. She wondered if Sasuke chose them because of this factor. She looked ahead of her to look at the leader of Team Hebi. 'Maybe…' But then again Sasuke didn't strike her as the nostalgic type. Maybe reminiscent but not nostalgic.

"Some shelter that his clan used during the two Hidden World Wars. I've been to a few of them but there are many more. Some of them even have servants still there waiting for their master," he answered in sarcasm.

"Wow, I had no idea…" she muttered. She knew he was from a noble clan and that noble clans had money and power but even before he was left with a fortune. During those hard missions, when they were genin, he had the nerve to except payment. Which by the way was miniscule compared to what her salary was back at the hospital, and as a chuunin no less. It wasn't fair that he was not only a spoiled brat, but a rich spoiled brat who didn't know how to spend his own money. Either that or he was just cheap. Suigetsu nodded at her newfound discovery. At first it was hard to believe himself but when a servant asked if he could store his nabbed Samehada in the armory, he freaked out. Being around the jerk wasn't so bad after all, even if it got bothersome sometimes.

The white haired shinobi, still looking ahead, noticed Karin sneak a peak back at the two. She was latching onto Sasuke, possessively as always, along with Juugo who hadn't said a word since he woke up. The big guy was always quiet and never had any problems with anyone, except for Sakura who glared at him when he came to. He was sure the kunoichi had met the other Juugo and not the tender dejected one, earlier. He had explained the basics to Sakura who lost the grudge completely but still kept a weary eye of him. 'That other personality,' she thought, 'I think I've seen it somewhere before.' A flash of Juugo's crazed face appeared in her daydream, 'But where?' She kept walking until bumping into something hard and warm, face first. Her pink head looked up to see that she had walked right into the person of her thoughts and a small blush crept up her cheeks. How embarrassing. She was going to apologize but saw that he didn't even notice her collision into his back.

Confused she walked around the man to see him staring straight ahead along with every one else. After looking around her she finally followed everyone else's gaze and saw a black shape in the distance. The view was hazy because of the humidity in the air so she squinted, to see what they were so hypnotized by. It was coming closer to them and there were hints of red on the cloak the person wore in the hot sun. As soon as they were 50 yards away from the group her suspicions were proven right. Akatsuki.

ShoutOutToAnoreShoutOutToCollabriaShoutOutTorecollectedMerryChristmas!!!

Golden eyes surveyed four shinobi in hospital beds. They had been recovered near a mountain in Grass by Anbu and were in pretty bad shape. Mentally. She was the only one besides Sakura who could heal them. Speaking of which, after one of them had woken up she was told her that her tyro was in the company of her old teammate. Uchiha Sasuke. Her eyes narrowed at hearing that part and she closed them squeezing her fist tighter when hearing that she was being held against her will. "The only reason," Genma had testified, "that we're alive right now is because she agreed to go with him without a fight." She walked to the room's window and looked past it at the establishment's courtyard. 'So that's why she didn't come back after her one-manned mission,' she figured. "I see. Get some rest and don't worry. She'll be alright. I did train her after all," she walked out of the room.

Even though she told him not to, Genma had regret and shame written all over his face. Her apprentice had invaded the hearts of many Jounin and Chuunin, specifically because of her skills as a medic nin, that were developed helping out Shizune or herself with difficult surgeries that they usually endured. That's how she got so good in the first place and that's how she got so close to them. They always looked forward to getting checkups because there was always a possibility she'd be the one to perform them having time and needing experience. It wasn't just her proficiency either, her persona was so flexible that, she was easily thought of as their little sister. When news would spread of her disappearance half of the village would be depressed in less than a week.

That in itself wasn't good. If the village's spirit was weakened because of her apprentice's absence, then that means Konoha's morale has been virtually non-existent. On the other hand Sakura's scarcity could be an excellent turnover. It could raise the average Leaf shinobi standard. She sighed out as she left the hospital front doors ignoring villager's greetings. Why did that girl have to be so popular? She knew that she was partly to blame for that status but kami! When her own team would hear of the situation they'd be all gun-ho to find her no matter what the cost. Even if it meant disobeying her orders not to go. Then again it wouldn't be a bad idea to send them after her but the major problem was Uchiha. He was a dangerous individual whom they have failed to bring back more than once. He wouldn't just hand her over for whatever reason. She wondered why Sakura was so important to him anyway. There were rumors of him being seen with Akatsuki members.

Tsunade refused the insistence to punch nearby wall in. Temper tantrums won't solve anything although they do help you feel better. This would be another important person, her 5th to be exact, that she could lose to an untimely death. Her blonde brow twitched. Fifth for the Fifth Hokage, that was a bit eerie. She shook her head in dismissal of the realization. She wouldn't fail this time. Sakura will not be part of her curse. The whole thing was all a pain in the ass and she needed a drink. Where is the newest tavern that she had approved of last month?

ShoutOutToBlackElement7ShoutOutToAkatsukinoSuzakuHappyNewYear!!!!!!!(:D

Team Hebi ignored Sakura's obvious apprehension as their leader met up with Zangetsu who immediately started chatting. "Oh, you have the Hokage's apprentice. It's a bit odd that you were able to keep her with you after Konan's defeat. It's all right. He has her in custody that's what matters. Hmph," Sasuke honestly didn't get this man/plant… person/thing. It was obvious that he had two different personalities but even his/their appearance was odd. The guy had a Venus flytrap for a head and his face was divided into two. One half was black, the other white and he had yellow eyes poke out from both fractions. The rest of his team seemed cautious and perhaps even afraid of him but Sakura was… adamant. Not one wave of fear rolled off of her like it did when he caught her days ago.

'It must be Naruto's influence,' he assumed, "What do you want?" he inquired sternly pushing his thoughts away.

"Leader wants to see you boy. It would do well to bring the girl with you. No. Just tell him you have her in your possession. He wants to initiate you into the organization. It would be a good idea to have her with you." The human plant rambled on.

Sasuke almost raised a brow but didn't allocate himself to show any skepticism. That would make him seem suspicious, "Aren't I already part of the organization?"

Sakura's eyes snapped to Sasuke in shock. Sure she was told that he was at an Akatsuki meeting a few days ago, and was even being recruited earlier than that but she didn't even think that it was true. Why was he part of this godforsaken group? There was enough faith in him, inside her being, to not even think twice about saying no like she did. Apparently her conviction had been thwarted. How was she going to relay this to Konoha? More importantly, how was she going to convince him not to take part in their activities? It was highly unlikely that he'd listen but she had to try in order to even have the possibility of him being accepted back in the village as an option.

Sakura didn't understand his intentions. He was always very vague and it took eons to figure him out as a child. When they had seen him at Orochimaru's hideout he was very stubborn against his brother's doctrines and avoided as much of his path at all costs. Being an S-class criminal was an exception and couldn't be helped. The fact that he said, "To not give that man the satisfaction…" was enough to give her an idea of who he was talking about that time. The others, including Naruto for some reason, were clueless. She listened some more keeping her fury and disappointment at bay.

"Do you have this, boy? By the way where's your cloak?" Zangetsu held up his right hand showing off a ring with kanji written in the center of its jewel. Sakura squinted to get a better look but frowned as she missed what it said as he brought his hand down and the cloak once again shielded it from prying eyes like hers.

'Come to think of it Itachi had one too,' Sakura realized.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I suppose that man's will suffice?" He didn't like where this was going. It was bad enough that he had to join the same group of losers his brother was acquainted with in his last days but he also was to inherit his costume jewelry too. Just grand. "Ah, yes. It will. But there's a ritual involved. The ring still believes it belongs to your late brother. The one he wore along with everyone else's is very important to our work. It won't do. It won't do at all." he turned towards the rest of Team Hebi who stiffened up considerably. Sakura glared back and took a step forward. She wasn't intimidated in the least. Most of the freaks the group had discharged were already seen by her very eyes. It wasn't anything new. The man seemed to smirk at this and gazed right back, "…yes, very important. I trust that you have Konan's as well? Leader will need a new angel," this time Sakura's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What did that mean?

Sasuke turned around to look at her too with a sideways glance, face blank, "Hn." Sakura shifted her eyes towards him giving the same look.

ShoutOutToHANAJIMAUCHIHAShoutOutTocooliow77ShoutOutToJennjennr!(:D

Sakura frowned at her reflection. How dare he lock her up and have the audacity to call her an animal?! She wasn't an animal. It was called self defense, dammit! Especially when she wasn't even the one who started it. She was in a room cut off from the Team Hebi, fresh air… the world. They'd finally found the hideout that Suigetsu had talked to her earlier about after dark. Sakura was ecstatic that they'd finally stopped but she wasn't too crazy about solitary confinement, 'Dammit,' he knew she hated being left alone.

Flashback

The schizophrenic plantman disappeared within the depths of the sand as Sakura watched him go. Her eyes narrowed further when he noticed her glower and cackled. She waited a few seconds as she observed the ground like the rest of Sasuke's team. Sasuke was looking elsewhere in deep thought.

"Ugh, he gives me the creeps. Can't they send someone else to give messages?" Karin asked aloud.

"Doubt it, and even if they did it'd be another freak. Akatsuki's full of them," Suigetsu answered.

Karin wrinkled her nose and shifted her garnet eyes towards Sakura who was now glaring at Sasuke, "I see what you mean. No wonder why they want her to join."

Sakura's gaze snapped to the girl aware that she was just indirectly insulted. Her face was blank, "…"

"C'mon Karin don't start now. It's too hot for this. Besides you look more like a freak than she ever will," Suigetsu commented looking out to the horizon of Sand and sky.

Sakura smirked. She had the feeling that Suigetsu and she were going to have a very beautiful friendship. Karin perceived her amusement, "What are you smiling at bitch?!"

The smirk never faded as she answered, "A freak."

The girl was about to come back with another insult when Sasuke intervened, "Stop it," and continued to walk on ahead.

"But…" Karin, appalled, watched Sakura follow and eventually catch up to their leader.

"Sasuke," she called out to him making him stop in his tracks and irritably frown at her. He wanted to get there before nightfall. Couldn't her interrogation wait?

"What is it, Sakura?" her Peridot caught how his eyes flashed red but she didn't heed his warning tone like his newest fangirl.

"What do you mean what? You know what," she felt his chakra pump harder around her wrists. If he thought hurting her would get her to shut up, he was dead wrong.

The avenger closed his dark eyes and ran his hair through his equally dark locks. Team Hebi saw how well they knew each other even though it was common knowledge that they'd been separated for years. Karin was silently fuming at how the pink haired girl was so familiar with Sasuke. Suigetsu was surprised that she had called him by his first name. Didn't she say that they weren't close?

"…No I don't," he looked at her again. Face blank. It was hard to figure her out. Where did all of that fear go?

Her glare intensified putting Sasuke's to shame, "Stop playing dumb with me! I know that you're not stupid contrary to your usual disposition for someone who doesn't have much of a vocabulary. Why did you join Akatsuki? Was it your brother's dying wish or something?"

"…" his eyes narrowed. She was pushing it.

She raised a brow knowing his limits but kept up her tirade, "You have your revenge. It would be alright if you just wandered around like the loser you are but noooooo! You just had to have your scout's honor and earn you avenger's badge, didn't you?" She mock saluted him. "You're going to succeed at what he failed to do…just to stomp on his grave one day… aren't you?" she looked down suddenly depressed.

"Hey pinky," Sakura twitched, annoyed at the nickname, and turned around snubbing Sasuke's blood lust saturating the atmosphere.

She turned around looking at Karin trouncing towards them, "What?"

"Don't stick your ugly nose into where it doesn't belong. You don't know the first thing about Sasuke-kun."

Sakura held up her hands as if surrendering, "Sorry I didn't mean to hurt the feelings of the father of your future children," she couldn't help the smirk once hearing Suigetsu's laughter a couple of feet away. Juugo himself chuckled a bit too. Karin, incensed, looked at Sasuke who was looking elsewhere as if silently asking, "Did she just say what I thought she just said?" Then she looked behind her where the giant of the group was holding a hand up to his face. He rarely laughed or smiled at all! Suigetsu was on the desert sand holding his stomach. Embarrassed and definitely not wanting to be shown up by some flat-chested, pink-haired, slut with a huge forehead she turned around and with a battle cry.

End Flashback

Obviously she won as Sasuke made her heal a very comatose Karin, and then rushed them all to the hideout. She was lying on a huge bed in a very nice room for a prisoner and staring up at the ceiling. Sakura held her hands up and rubbed her wrists in a circular motion to soothe them. They were achy even though he dispelled his chakra chains a long time ago. No doubt that the room was sealed… and she was hungry. He could've at least left her with the reassurance of food coming her way soon. She hadn't eaten since… wow… since the battle with Konan. How was she able to go on? Her self ministrations ceased as she covered her eyes with one of her hands. Here's a better question, how was she going to get out of this? Would the Akatsuki expect her to join now, that she knew Sasuke did? Of course she wouldn't yield to their prospects but the issue was her old teammate. Would he force her to? Or would the Akatsuki do the forcing?

So many questions were left unanswered that it exhausted her mind and body. She turned on her side ignoring the huge poofy pillows above her and used her elbow for their substitutes. Although the room looked homey it gave off an air of uneasiness. The kunoichi firmly believed that curling into a ball on the comfy mattress could cure all that and drifted into the land of sleep.

Preview: Naruto slammed both of his hands down on her desk in fury, "HE DID WHAT?!" The 60-something old woman stared at his hands that were scratching grains of wood off of her desk as he tried to hold the immensity of his anger in. She swiveled around in her chair so that she could look out the window observing the air mail flying in and out of the tower. "You heard me, brat." Kakashi stepped forward and pulled his ex-student back by the arm with a harsh grip. "Compose yourself, Naruto," The blonde snatched his arm away and ground his teeth together slightly aware of the Copy nin's disapproving gaze.

(A/N: Well? How was this one? Although my Microsoft Word's page count says, 11, it doesn't feel that long to me. Wonder why…)


	4. Lack of Equanimity

Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say anyway…

(A/N: Do you know what's so embarrassing? Mistakes. I'm aware that people make them. And by people I include myself as well. I was reviewing my last chapter… because I didn't have a beta reader… and found out one thing. Did anyone notice last chapter that instead of putting down _Zetsu_, like I was supposed to, I put down _Zangetsu_. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?! T.T I was watching a whole bunch of Bleach episodes that time I wrote it. I'm so embarrassed. _Zangetsu_ is Ichigo's zanpakto's name. Not the schizophrenic plant/man thing. This is what happens when people don't give reviews…)

**Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say anyway…**

**Title: Tarnished Soldiers**

**Chapter 4: Lack of Equanimity**

Flashback

_The Leaf kunoichi just stared at her dubiously as she kept charging. 'She can't be serious…' Sakura thought frowning. Suigetsu was right it was too hot for this. But the four-eyes didn't show any signs of stopping anytime soon so Sakura had to find a way to counter her attack with her restraints. As soon as Karin was within a foot of her allowed range, Sakura pumped chakra down her legs to dodge with ease and tripped the shrieking harpy by the chakra rope._

_The girl fell down with a thud creating a cloud of Sand upon impact. Sakura's pink head tilted in fascination as she subtly glanced down at her wrist and then at Sasuke. He seemed uninterested, ignoring the whole scene with his back turned. Had he been paying attention he would've noticed what she did. The flow to her manacles sporadically stopped its circulation from his wrist to hers. The interference seemed to be a godsend._

_A smirk found itself on her face as she observed the red-head get up mumbling to herself as she got off the dusty ground, "Please don't tell me you're the most graceful kunoichi the Sound has to offer." Karin's eyes narrowed at Sakura's taunting as she finally straightened up and "humphed." Sakura needed a good stretch anyway. Too many of her muscles felt stiff even though she was exercising them as they ran from Mist Hunter Nin._

_The roseate sprinted for the redhead and vice versa. The instant they collided, Sakura's wrists were held up in a block against Karin's kunai knife. 'Where the hell did she pull that from?' she wondered as they pushed off of each other and landed a few feet away. Surveying her arms made her frown as she saw the odd purplish coloring of her skin along with the blood streaming down her arms. There was poison in the blade. What a weakling._

_Sakura always thought weaklings used things like poison because they knew the extent of their strength wasn't satisfactory. Although the girl had glasses there was no other indication that the she was smart. Her decisions were rash and she was even more hot headed than herself and let her emotions get the best of her during a fight. Nevertheless her test was a success. The fluctuation of the chakra was once again proven. All Sakura needed to do was have Karin hit her wrists again and activate her own chakra. It'd be easy because she was able to measure the extent of her taijutsu after the two first blows. What did Sasuke use her for, the bed? She shook her head to get rid of the wicked thought. He was the type to use people but she just couldn't see him like that and not because she…because she… whatever. Her mind was a dangerous thing._

_Sakura's fists opened and closed to stretch the muscles in them. The poison worked on the victim's appendages and their mobility. She inwardly smirked already knowing that the poison was no big deal. All she had to do was summon a slug to treat it. She already identified what the concoction was and couldn't wait to give the girl across from her a wake up call. Karin was the one to start for her this time and Sakura let her come but dodged her blows fluidly. Knowing that this girl was emotionally unstable when it came to fights made this all too easy. She wasn't even this pathetic as a genin. Maybe it was because her "Sasuke-kun" had been insulted was the reason why she sucked so much?_

_After another dodge she turned around to stand side by side Karin and performed a sweep kick knocking her to the ground again. Her plan was working already as she saw the surprise and frustration evident in her opponents face. She waited until the fangirl turned around to face her before giving her, the most arrogant smirk and stalking off towards her crush. Sakura skipped over to him just to make her madder so that the next blow would be hard enough to cause the disturbance again. Her ears picked up on the girl standing up quickly and running towards her at a deadly pace. When her educated guess told her that she was close enough she turned around and held her wrists up once again and blocked the blow using her superhuman strength._

_A small explosion sounded making Suigetsu hoot out at them to keep it up as he sat down on the desert ground and got his water bottle out. Juugo looked at him in the corner of his eye then nervously at where the girls had disappeared in a ball of smoke that was slowly dissipating._

"_Shouldn't we stop them?" he asked his white haired companion._

_Suigetsu spared the giant a glance still sucking on his straw before commenting, "Nah, d'ya see Captain Babyface doing anything about it?"_

_Juugo innocently shook his head._

"_Then just shut it and enjoy the show," Suigetsu told him and sipped some more of his water._

_The giant's brows furrowed together as he contemplated what his teammate suggested. True, their leader wasn't doing anything but…In less than a second he dodged out of the vixen's way grabbing Suigetsu's collar, unaware that he was choking him. He land 50 feet away from the disturbance and gawked at a sharp trail in the sand that wasn't there before. Surrounding components fell into the gap they had created filling in for what was lost. It was as if a huge knife just came out of nowhere and sliced its way into the ground. Suigetsu had choked on the water he was about to swallow before the incident and was currently on the ground sputtering and coughing for relief. When he finally settled down, Juugo looked at him as his argument was proven, but the smaller nin just rolled his eyes and stubbornly got comfortable again sitting on the sea of dust._

_Juugo sighed and kept on looking out for the girls who were at the pinnacle of the indent. The pink haired girl was busy fighting while a slug, stuck on her arm, was sucking on the previous wound that was earlier inflicted by his red-headed teammate. She seemed oblivious to the said teammate who was screaming out her frustration, as she dodged effortlessly focusing on her wrists. That's when he noticed that the chakra bonds were gone. He looked at Sasuke who was now observing the battle with a blank stare. If Orochimaru's favorite subject wasn't worried, which is rare, then he guessed that he too should relax._

"_Hold still you bitch!" he heard Karin screech out._

"_Why would I do that?" asked the captive, arrogant smirk replaced with a raised brow. She's not a masochist unlike some people she knew. It ticked her off that the girl was so weak and painfully reminded herself of what she was like at 12. This girl was blindly devoted to an asshole that she'd do anything for even if it included something disgusting like bearing Uchiha heirs. She definitely had the figure for it and was fairly easy on the eyes. That thought in itself made her detest Sasuke even more. Her anger spread throughout her body as she decided that she would hit back. Hard._

_The red-head and Suigetsu noticed that Sakura's demeanor had changed completely. She looked ready to kill but she was no Juugo. His sharp eyes watched to see if she would kill without a second thought. Karin must've struck a nerve with the girl or something. Her sudden killing intent didn't make any sense. Sakura's opponent smirked at the angry eyes, tight line of a mouth, and palpable blood lust, finally satisfied that she was the one who was able to annoy the other._

_Karin didn't have a clue as Sakura charged after her with a high concentration of chakra in her hand poised like a blade itself._

'_First I'll go for the clothes. Humiliate her,' Sakura told herself. As soon as she made it over she slashed at her target careful not to touch her._

_Karin raised a brow, 'What the hell is she trying to kill, air?' After a total of 15 high speed slashes in her general direction the girl felt a draft on her arms and upper torso._

_Sakura looked at Karin's white sleeves slide off of her arms. The cuts that formed from her slashes also produced red slits of blood on her skin and started to leak out down her arms. Shreds of clothing fell off of her at an alarming rate to the point that her shorts became almost null and void and her light jacket was nothing but rags held up by her body, 'Let her realize that she's exposed and that she's weak,' she added._

_Which didn't take too long as Karin gawked down at her bra and shrieked at the absence of clothing on her figure. "OH MY GAWD!!" Suigetsu could be faintly heard whistling suggestively from a distance. "SHUT UP!" She looked back at Sakura who tilted her head at the site staring._

"_I don't see why I'm such a threat to your non-existent relationship with that bastard over there," Sakura jabbed a thumb at the said bastard. Karin got redder by the second making the roseate wonder if she could match her own hair. "I mean I'm not even interested in him," she stated while thinking, 'Anymore…' "And besides your rack seems to be on his radar now." Karin shot her head to Sasuke and misunderstood that he was looking at her when he was actually looking at the interaction between the two instead. Clueless, she flushed and waved hello to the dark haired nin with a big grin on her face. Sakura looked at his blank stare._

_Had he really been checking Karin out, his gaze would've been a little lower. They could barely tell anyway since he was on a higher dune than them but that's the only reason she could think of why he was looking down in the first place. Nevertheless she fell for the bait and Sakura found herself scoffing. "Typical," she muttered._

_Despite the small jeer at her behavior Karin heard and spat back, "What was that?" Sakura raised a brow at the sudden change of attitude. Her opponent's hands were placed on each hip confidently and she stood proud. That was the only thing the roseate lacked back then, constantly being overshadowed by her two teammates in the past._

"_Why do you throw yourself at that prick?" Sakura questioned her instead._

_The bespectacled girl rolled her eyes as if she was asked the stupidest question in the world. "Isn't it obvious?"_

_Sakura came at her again noticing that she put up more of a fight when she was calm and gave her a look as they exchanged blows. "Not really. I mean he doesn't pay any attention to you, treats you like dirt, has a huge superiority complex, not as smart as he's made out to be, and asexual. If anything, he's just plain gay. Don't you notice how he pays more attention to the guys of the group than he does the girls?"_

_They snuck a peek at Sasuke's face. His eyes were narrowing dangerously at Sakura who only smirked in triumph. Karin sputtered red faced, "Tha-that's not true! Sasuke-kun notices me in every way and he's not stupid he's a genius!"_

_Sakura wanted to gag. Karin was definitely in her own world. She needed a wake up call from earth. The girl aimed for Sakura's jugular with another kunai but Sakura dodged and grabbed it at the hilt around the girl's wrist. The red head aimed a punch for Sakura's gut with the other hand but that was blocked and restrained by Sakura's other hand as well. Frustrated once again she lifted her leg to kick her side and hit her desired target. Sakura took it in stride and trapped that leg with her elbow and cracked the girl's wrist in retaliation earning a scream. The other girl realized she was trapped as she tried to keep her balance and pull away. Sakura wouldn't let go and Karin was perplexed at such a strong grip._

"_Stop kidding yourself," the Hokage's apprentice said suddenly._

"_Huh?" Karin didn't get what the girl was saying. She was implying that she was ignorant of something._

"_He only noticed you for your chakra tracking abilities, nothing more. And he __**is**__ so, stupid. I was the smartest one on his old cell in Konoha. Plus he's joining the endangered species, known as Akatsuki, in which all 5 great shinobi nations are hunting down. You'd think he'd stay away from a group that could eventually bring the demise of his clan seeing as how he's the only one left… granted he hasn't used you as a baby machine yet. How can you be so stupid? That's probably the only reason why he keeps you around."_

_The girl was beyond red and looked like she was going to cry. Sakura didn't care, someone needed to say it. "That's not true! Sasuke-kun loves me he just doesn't know it yet," This time Sakura rolled her eyes. She wasn't even that naïve when she was younger._

"_No wonder why he doesn't give you the time of day, you don't even respect yourself. He isn't capable of loving __**anything**__. He only tolerates and hates. You know what I'm talking about." Karin, eyes wide, shook her head in denial. Sakura narrowed her eyes and head butted the pathetic girl in front of her and let go of her limbs so she would fall back. The red head crumpled on the ground and clutched her head half in pain, half in realization, Sakura guessed. She watched her get up from the ground again and ignored the tears flowing down the girls face but noticing a familiar red liquid trickling down her forehead._

_Sakura felt her own forehead with the back of her hand and snorted. She was bleeding too. Karin was shaking, 'After humiliation comes the pain,' Sakura told herself. The girl had unknowingly brought back memories that she tried so hard to smother out of her head. The red head was strangely silent but clearly upset which annoyed Sakura even more. It was like her old self was trying to take back its place in her life. Sakura wouldn't have any of it. She let Karin come at her with a strangled cry then let loose as soon as she dodged another kunai aiming a chakra filled punch for the ribs. A sick satisfaction of hearing and feeling the bones crush under her fist, rolled through the leaf kunoichi. She aimed another punch in the form in front of her lifting the girl off the ground._

_Sakura lost count of the inhuman blows she dealt on Karin but when it was all over she felt Suigetsu holding her back telling her to "Cool it!" Sakura wouldn't listen and kept struggling as Sasuke walked over to the half dead kunoichi in his recent team. His face was completely blank as he surveyed the blood everywhere and then the pissed ex-teammate. He didn't expect Sakura to change into a merciless killing machine. She was definitely strong and he was pretty much sure that this wasn't even a slight percentage of her strength. No wonder Akatsuki wanted her._

_It kind of bothered him how she was able to defeat __**both**__ body and spirit of her opponents. She wasn't capable of that back then. Karin was still alive but he knew she wanted to die by the way she looked at him. "Sa…su…ke…it," she hacked out a considerable amount of blood then continued, "It's…n-not tr-true, is i-it?"_

_He didn't answer her or take his eyes off of her but instead commanded, "Nice job Sakura now fix her," Suigetsu let go of the one he held in surprise as to how their leader handled the situation. Karin's face scrunched up in heartbreak and she became upset once again sputtering and hacking out more blood. Sakura calmed down considerably and stared at him as he stood up and looked away from the fallen kunoichi, scouting the area. Someone was closing in fast. "I'd rather you'd do it quickly," he added. Sakura sucked her teeth then commented, "Asshole," he turned to her as Karin passed out, "I expect nothing less from an animal that used to be my pet."_

_Sakura's face contorted into one of surprise. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened in realization of his insult. She lunged for him but was stopped from by behind once again, by Juugo this time, who had a good hold on her arm. Her fist was inches away from Sasuke's face, 'Just a little more,' she told herself. Juugo was surprised that this skinny girl could give him trouble._

_His whole hand encircled her upper arm but he had to use all of his strength to hold her back. He looked at their leader who just blinked at the fist and then smirked at the roseate as if he knew something she didn't. The boy didn't use his Sharingan at all but Juugo could tell that he read her mind somehow as she paled considerably and stilled her movements. He let go of her and watched her posture slacken and her arms drop to her sides._

_Sasuke walked up to her and leaned forward past her head and stopped at her ear and whispered, "You'll never reach me, no matter what you do," then walked past her. Juugo noticed the girl's little fist tighten once more as she looked at the girl on the floor. Blood seeped from the painful grip. What was this girl to Sasuke? The others could never defeat her physically but Sasuke only said a few words and she was down for the count._

End Flashback

**ShoutouttoLes-liaisons-dangereusesShoutouttoShadows08Imissedyoudid'jamissme?**

Naruto slammed both of his hands down on her desk in fury, "HE DID WHAT?!" The 60-something old woman stared at his hands that were scratching grains of wood off of her desk as he tried to hold the immensity of his anger in. She swiveled around in her chair so that she could look out the window observing the air mail flying in and out of the tower. "You heard me, brat." Kakashi stepped forward and pulled his ex-student back by the arm with a harsh grip. "Compose yourself, Naruto," The blonde snatched his arm away and ground his teeth together slightly aware of the Copy nin's disapproving gaze.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, since Sakura's disappearance have you done nothing to ensure her safe return?" His lone eye watched Tsunade's arm pop out from behind the big black leather chair and grab her saké bottle. After minutes of hearing the liquid pour into a cup, she finally sighed out, "What do you think I've been doing? Checking my lottery tickets?" Shizune let out a nervous laugh and the Godaime shot her look that said, "Shut up." The younger woman silently obeyed and checked over paperwork. After a few more seconds of silence and no more view of birds, Tsunade turned around and slammed the urn on her desk.

"I have Kakashi. Anbu has only come up with what might've been Team Hebi's hideout. Some of her fingerprints and DNA have been identified in a nearby rundown cabin from the area she was seen last."

The silver haired jounin seemed to relax a bit as his shoulders lowered a little, "I see."

Naruto was still angry but a lot more poised than a few minutes ago, "And nothing else?"

Tsunade nodded frowning, "That's it." It was silent for awhile as she observed the usually upbeat but highly obnoxious boy. He was quiet and had his head down but she could see his mouth in a tight line. The brat was never one for silence.

Then, "How soon can we leave?" she smirked at the determination in his face. He was still teeming with anger but anyone could see that he now had a clear head and overbearing resolve. Even if she wanted to, Tsunade didn't know how to say, "No."

"I didn't even say you would," she sighed out leaning back into her chair, as he gave her his infamous impish smirk.

**ShoutouttoXxMomo-chanxXShoutouttoEmoNinjaSaraShoutouttosanhaseneCha!**

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open at the sudden sense of another in the room with her. She was still tired and didn't want to get up so she just lay there lazily and tried to recall the past events as to why she wasn't in her own bedroom. Her eyes were barely open and she was still half awake as she stared at a blurred figure approaching. She followed the silhouette's movement until it was standing right in front of her, observing her as well. She blinked a couple of more times before widening her Peridot eyes after remembering her dream of yesterday. She sat up quickly finding herself staring at Sasuke who was looking at her with a raised brow. _'Why is he staring at me like that?'_ she asked herself as she looked at what was in his hands.

He was holding a bento box and chopsticks in which she guessed was her meal for the time being. "Do you have an overactive salivary gland?" he asked her out of the blue. She looked up at her captor and looked at him puzzled. What exactly was he getting at? He shook his head and tossed her the box and utensils in which she caught. At the sudden gust the action created she noticed that her chin felt wet. In a panic she wiped her hand across her mouth only to discover that the side of her face she lied on was covered in drool.

"Ew," she muttered to herself wiping the rest of the liquid away frantically.

"Hn," he commented.

She snapped her head towards Sasuke who was looking at her. "What are you looking at?" the girl asked, kind of irritated and suspicious of his observing her. He didn't say anything but she could tell he wanted to, "Spit it out asshole," she hissed out at him.

He gave her a smirk instead and turned to an armoire ignoring her on purpose. Her eye twitched as she looked at him taking off his cloak and drop a bag he was holding on a chair near the door that was now unsealed. Sakura licked her chapped dry lips in anticipation of escaping when he wasn't aware. She saw the black sleeveless shirt with the Uchiha symbol stitched in adorn his torso and wondered if he did it himself. There wouldn't be a tailor anywhere that would do that for him, right? But after remembering that the almost expelled Uchiha clan still had servants in their secret hideouts, she figured anything was possible.

Sakura suddenly remembered that she still had on his clothes and looked down at herself. They were honestly too comfortable to take off. How did he expect her to wear anything else if he didn't have any female attire around? She looked in the armoire he opened up and was surprised that he started stripping in front of her as he took another outfit out. Her jaw dropped as she looked from his bare back and arms that rippled with muscles that she could see from far away.

It was only till she felt her cheeks heat up that she realized he was being indecent and sputtered out, "W-what are y-you doing?!" and cursed herself for stuttering.

He turned at her yelp, showing off his abs and chest. Sakura thought she was going to die. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

She sighed out shakily and looked down so she could concentrate on her words. Why was it, that all the jerks were blessed with good looks? "You know what I mean, Uchiha! Why are you in my room undressing?!" Sakura reminded herself to breathe and calm down as she almost snapped the chopsticks in half.

She sensed him walk towards her at an agonizingly slow pace and stopped herself from gulping in fear. He proceeded to crawl on top of it towards her. It was then that the kunoichi noticed that the bed was huge and possibly king sized. Sakura didn't move an inch, even when he stopped in front of her, and not even when he reached behind her head and whispered in her ear, "Who said that this was your room?" She held in a gasp and lifted her head as he pulled away from her.

The bastard was still able to make her have a heart attack. Their eyes only met briefly but in that time frame it seemed like forever until he smirked and turned on his side and laid down the bed. _'WHY DO I LET HIM TOY WITH ME LIKE THAT?!'_ she inwardly yelled at herself as she looked at his still bare back. Sakura gulped and looked down at her food and opened the box so she could distract herself from the obvious temptation in front of her.

Instead of freaking out like she would've done at twelve years of age she calmly asked, "Why did you join Akatsuki?"

He let out an annoyed sigh. "If I answer one of your annoying questions will you shut the hell up?"

"Not exactly how I would put it but, yes." Sakura answered frowning at his rudeness. "I also have other quest-,"

"For revenge," he sighed out, interrupting her. He was so tired. Couldn't she see that?

"Eh?"

"Are you fucking deaf?" He snapped at her turning around as he did so.

She glared back, "You watch your mouth! Of course I'm not asshole," was her hypocritical reply.

He snorted and rolled back on his side showing her his back once more. "…"

"… Sasuke… you already had your revenge," she started again inspecting her food for poison and what not.

"…" he could sense the softness of her tone and decided the girl was bi-polar or something. One minute she was completely afraid of him, the next angry, and then compassionate. He couldn't keep up.

She separated her wooden chopsticks and stabbed the octopus meat. "…Answer me," she sighed out almost giving up.

Sasuke sensed the resignation in her voice and was almost compelled to answer her but thought better of it. He never gave her his confidence as a child and he wasn't going to start now. He didn't think her worthy of his inner most thoughts anyway. She'd never understand.

"It's none of your concern. Don't bother me anymore."

The Uchiha could feel her Peridot eyes on his back and could just picture the sad look on her visage as she did. He didn't care, never did, never will. Unbeknownst to him Sakura was actually studying his still form. She wasn't in the least bit sad, just a little angry, but more concerned than anything. The kunoichi wondered why it was so easy to talk to him now than it was when they were genin of Konohagakure. It was obvious that he finally acknowledged her after she beat the crap out of Karin. Although… he still thought very low of her. That one factor irked her more than Naruto's whining after practice.

Her eyes softened at her thoughts. What would Naruto do or say in this situation? She smiled lightly as she finished up her meal and put the box on a chair before going to the bathroom. Minutes later she came out, having taken a shower, and brushed her teeth. Remembering that she didn't have any of her own clothes, not wanting to put his dirty clothes on again, she glanced at the armoire and then at Sasuke's sleeping face. Grins galore.

Preview: "Hey, watch your hands, you creep!" Sakura huffed refusing the urge to shiver. The guy's appendages were so freaking cold. They were in the middle of a dessert, how could anything be cold out here? "Terribly sorry m'lady," he mumbled with a fake air of sincerity. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the man measuring her waste. Apprehension gone, she told Suigetsu, who was snickering the whole time, to kindly:

"Shut the fuck up."

Sasuke's presence was ignored though. She told herself that it was because he wasn't looking at her. He was.

(A/N: So how was it? Do you want her to kick Sasuke's arse, or what? Don't worry she will. :D)


End file.
